So I’m only a high school sophomore, but right now UPenn, specifically Wharton is my dream school.
My question is, is there anything that Wharton uniquely focuses on your application? Obviously GPA/SAT is a major part, but is there a certain extracurricular that Wharton admission seems to be impressed by? I have heard several myths, such as starting a business is not impressive…
Any feedback would be great, thank you!
Strong leadership abilities beyond your title. You do not need to be class president, but mentioning your impact as an officer or member will greatly help. I sure didn’t start a business in HS but they’re some who got in that did. I’d venture to say starting a business to look good on college apps probably did not cross their minds.
Thank You @AnewCrown
Strong leadership. Starting a business is good too.
I’m a current sophomore at Wharton and I can tell you that what seems to set Wharton students, and Penn students in general, is that they all have something that they are passionate about that they pursued in high school. Most of them also pursued it past their school, at a state level or higher. I can say this about a good number of people so if you’re interested in something it’s worth looking into how you can take this interest to the next level.
Wharton alum and I agree with @shevane – it is better for you to find an activity or two that REALLY interests you and pursue that fully than to pursue what you think the Wharton adcom wants. It’s not that starting a business will hold you back at all – if that’s what you want to do. But the adcom does see a lot of applicants who seem to feel they MUST start a business – so a few months before applying they throw together a website and a business plan for some random company that really does nothing - in order to say, see I’m a business owner. The adcom sees through it.
If you deeply pursue community service or school service or something like that – that’s fine too.
Sports are fine too, but keep in mind that it can be hard to “show” how deeply you pursue your sport; maybe you’re the hardest working person on your team and a mentor to all – and you can get a coach’s recommendation to say that – but unless that’s earning you all state or all district or awards, it will be harder to demonstrate than saying – I started a food drive in my town that ran for a whole yr and we raised x million pounds of food (just by way of example).